Marie Phillips

Goodreads Author

Born in London in 1976, I now live in Amsterdam. My novels are 'Gods Behaving Badly' and 'The Table of Less Valued Knights'. I also co-wrote the BBC Radio 4 series and book 'Warhorses of Letters', the BBC Radio 4 series 'Some Hay in a Manger', and was one of the contributors to the collection of spoof erotic essays, 'Fifty Shelves of Grey' (Vanessa Parody). I am currently crowdfunding my new book, 'Oh, I Do Like To Be...', via the Unbound website https://unbound.com/books/oh-i-do-lik...

Popular Answered Questions

Marie PhillipsHere's something nobody told me: procrastination can be healthy. There is a time for sitting in front of the screen trying to push on through, but…moreHere's something nobody told me: procrastination can be healthy. There is a time for sitting in front of the screen trying to push on through, but there is also a time for going and doing some laundry. Let your mind rest and recover, and it might just come up with the solution on its own.(less)

Marie PhillipsThank you, that's amazing to hear! OK, so the process with GBB was unusual. I already had representation for a book that was never published - I'd…moreThank you, that's amazing to hear! OK, so the process with GBB was unusual. I already had representation for a book that was never published - I'd been recommended an agent through a friend, and he'd passed me on to her (they were within the same agency), so that was pretty straightforward. But she really didn't like GBB, and she gave it to a reader who felt the same way. So I was left with a choice, persist with the agent or persist with GBB. I chose the book, but it was a very tough decision. Anyway I was working in a bookshop at the time, and one of the sales reps who came in regularly (a lovely man, Peter Fry, now retired) knew that I had written this book and advised me to send it to his boss, Dan Franklin, who at the time was the head of Jonathan Cape, a publishing division within Random House (he is also now retired). He was a hugely important guy, but I thought, what do I have to lose? So I sent him the opening chapters, with a short note explaining that I would appreciate his advice on getting representation or how to go about getting it published. I was incredibly lucky: Dan loved it, asked to read the rest, and made me an offer within a week. Then with his help I chose an agent: one look at the complexity of the contract they'd offered me made me realise that I did not want to do this alone. (I have never regretted this decision.) Having worked with Dan on a couple of books, and read other books that he recommended to me, I realised just how lucky I was - Dan and I happen to have the exact same sense of humour. The same book landing on someone else's desk might have had a very different response. Anyway, it's hard to generalise from my very unusual story, but I suppose what I learned from it is to believe in my work, not to give up if I get a negative response, and that when an opportunity comes your way, take it without thinking twice. Thanks again for your question, KDH - I'm guessing that you might be a writer too, in which case very best of luck with it!(less)

OK, I watched the last episode of Bodyguard last night and I need some help getting my head around this because I can’t tell if I was just missing the point or if maybe it was actually… not very good? Spoilers abound, obviously.

So, as I understood it, there were two conspiracies. In one of them, a coalition of terrorists and organised crime, aided by David’s corrupt boss, plotted a series of gi...

Preview — The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway

“Just shut up. Shut the fuck up, you stupid, uptight, don't drink, don't smoke, don't fuck, don't do anything that might almost be interpreted as fun, sanctimonious little fucking virgin. Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck, I've had enough. I'm not going to this fucking meeting, I don't care what happens to the fucking family, you can tell Athena what the fuck you like, just as long as you get out of my fucking face and stay out of it. - Apollo”
―
Marie Phillips,
Gods Behaving Badly

“Hello," She said.There was a long silence."Hello," said Artemis again."Are you talking to me?" said the tree. It had a faint Australian accent."Yes," said Artemis. "I am Artemis." If the tree experienced any recognition, it didn't show it. "I'm the goddess of hunting and chastity," said Artemis.Another silence. The the tree said, "I'm Kate. I work in mergers and acquisitions for Goldman Sachs.""Do you know what happened to you, Kate?" said Artemis.The longest silence of all. Artemis was just about to repeat the question when the tree replied."I think I've turned into a tree," it said. "Yes," said Artemis. "You have.""Thank God for that," said the tree. "I thought I was going mad."Then the tree seemed to reconsider this. "Actually," it said, "I think I would rather be mad." Then, with hope in its voice: "Are you sure I haven't gone mad?""I'm sure," said Artemis. "You're a tree. A eucalyptus. Subgenus of mallee. Variegated leaves.""Oh," said the tree."Sorry," said Artemis."But with variegated leaves?""Yes," said Artemis. "Green and Yellow."The tree seemed pleased. "Oh well, there's that to be grateful for," it said.”
―
Marie Phillips,
Gods Behaving Badly

“There's no direction I can go in. If I met someone else, what meaning would there be left? If the pain goes, does that mean I never loved her? How can I get over it? I can't, I mustn't. But what else am I going to do?”
―
Marie Phillips,
Gods Behaving Badly

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